Pidgins
- They are assumed to be coming from a Chinese attempt to pronounce the English word business during the trade in the Far East.
- They arose in the colonial situations where several colonial powers, e.g. officials and merchants, met with the natives.
- Pidgin arises with the Urgency of Communication between social groups.
According to Abdou (2012), pidgin is a word that has its origin from the English word “business”. The term was used in china in the sense of business. Currently, pidgin is used to describe a language that is used as a form of communication among people who have other languages in common. The pidgins rose during the colonial period, where representatives of the colonial powers came into contact with the local or the native people. The need to communicate between two or more groups in society makes them develop a language that they can all understand.
Definition
- A pidgin or contact language arises with the need to communicate between social groups.
- One of the group is dominant over the other
- Pidginization is a complex combination of processes of change.
Koyfman (2017) describes pidgin as the first-generation version of a language that comes around between two native speakers of different languages. The pidgin acts as a temporary bridge of communication. The bridge will only develop after continuous contact between two social groups that require communicating with each other. One of the two social groups is dominant over the other, and it is the less dominant group that develops the pidgin. Pidginization is a process that involves different stages of change that includes reduced or simplified inputs resources, innovations and structures with a lot of influence taking centre stage.
Characteristics of pidgin language
- No native speakers
- Spoken by many people
- Not used as a form of identification
- The dominant group has more vocabularies.
The pidgin does not have native speakers as it is only a bridge between two groups, and many people usually speak it in terms of trade. The language cannot be used by any of the social group for identification. The pidgin is made up of languages with one being dominant over the other. The dominant group provides more vocabularies in the pidgin.
Outcomes of pidgins
- Die out
- Advance to formal roles
- Develop into a creole
The pidgins may die out in the long run because the fundamental reason for communication may disappear; for example, the trade between the two groups may end. The pidgin may also advance into a more formal language (Lingua Franca) that now becomes widely used. Finally, the pidgin may develop into a creole which is a pidgin that has native speakers.
Code-switching
- Speaker alternates between two or more languages
- Occurs mostly in bilingual societies
- Does code-switching include actions?
- Code-switching with dialects
Code-switching is when an instructor alternates between two or more languages or dialects or some other varieties of languages all in one conversation. Code-switching occurs mostly in bilingual societies (Esen 2019). Those who speak more than one language are known for their capability to mix languages during communication processes. Code-switching also involves switching of styles and rules; for example, one speaks differently to a potential employer compared to a close friend. The mixing of codes also includes a single dialect. One can switch between one language by mixing dialects.
Reasons for code-switching
- To fulfil a need
- Express solidarity
- Need to exclude others
Ones who are not able to express themselves in a given language may switch to another language to communicate what they intended to pass across. This triggers them to switch to another language for a while. Code mixing also happens when one wishes to express loyalty to a specific group of individuals as this may establish a rapport between the speaker and the listener. The need to exclude some people from the conversation may also trigger code-switching.
Types of code-switching
- Inter-sentential
- Intra-sentential
- Extra-sentential
In intra-sentential code-switching, the language is placed at sentence borders. Words are placed at the end of the beginning of a sentence. In intra-sentential switching, the change is done in the middle of the sentence with no interruptions or pauses. Extra-sentential involves switching of either a single word or a phrase or even both from one language to another.
Language change
- Permanent alterations made in the use of language
- Sound change, lexical differences, semantic changes
- Sporadic and systematic language change
- How and why does language change?
According to Nordquist (2019), language change is the processes by which permanent alterations are made in the features and use of a language over time. Language change includes sound, lexical, semantics and syntactic changes. Adjustments in language may be systematic or sporadic. Addition of vocabulary to a new item is an infrequent change because it has a little impact on the language. The systematic change affects the whole system of language. There exist several ways in which language changes ranging from language learning, social interaction and natural methods in usage. Social interactions are where social groups adopt different norms of dressing, gestures and even language. An instructor can be affected by language change and therefore use this aspect of sociolinguistic.
Dialectology
- Study of dialects
- Dialect geography
- Types of dialectology
Nordquist (2019), describes dialectology as a scientific study of dialects or the geographical differences in languages. Sociolinguists and dialectologists are both interested in the language of a specific place. Dialect geography is a method used for collecting evidence of dialect differences in a systematic manner. Social dialectology differs from traditional dialectology because it focuses on the settled societies. Regional dialectology consists of boundaries that are known from the researcher’s reports. Perceptual dialectology involves beliefs and thoughts that non-linguists have formed about language.